Oxford Street fails to live up to its reputation and needs to be given over to pedestrians, according to the woman who transformed Times Square in New York.
Janette Sadik-Khan suggested that the way to improve the UK’s most famous shopping street was so obvious that it is “almost hidden in plain sight”.
In her time as New York transport commissioner, during Michael Bloomberg’s mayoralty, she pedestrianised Times Square by removing vehicles from the streets around Broadway.
London mayor Sadiq Khan met her during his visit to New York in September.
This week Ms Sadik-Khan and colleagues from Bloomberg Associates made the return trip to London and saw for themselves the challenges Mr Khan faces in implementing his desire to pedestrianise Oxford Street between Oxford Circus and Selfridges.
Ms Sadik-Khan, who was accompanied by London walking and cycling commissioner Will Norman, told The Standard: “Oxford Street is one of the iconic streets in the world. Everybody knows Oxford Street. But it doesn’t really live up to its reputation when you walk there.
“The street is dominated by buses and taxis and people are fighting their way through.
“It reminded me of Times Square [before it was changed]. A total of 90 per cent of the ‘traffic’ in Times Square was people walking, yet they only had 10 per cent of the streets. That is very similar to the kind of math you see on Oxford Street.
“The possibilities are almost hidden in plain sight. You could see what could happen if you open up that space to pedestrians and give them the space they need to enjoy this incredible street.”
Ms Sadik-Khan also met Dee Corsi, chief executive of the New West End Company, which represents some firms in Oxford Street, before heading to City Hall to speak with Mr Khan.
Since 2009, Times Square has been transformed by creating a series of pedestrian blocks and removing car access.
Completed in 2017, the project carved out 2.5 acres of pedestrian-only space and transformed a notoriously congested intersection into a world-class civic space.
The work at Times Square started after an increase in road collisions. The changes involved closing Broadway to vehicles and building six new pedestrian plazas between 42nd and 47th Streets that include long granite benches.
Changes that were at first temporary were later made permanent, leading to a long-term reduction in pedestrian injuries and fewer crashes.
Mr Khan believes Times Square and La Rambla in Barcelona can provide inspiration for changes to Oxford Street.
Last week The Standard revealed that more than 20 local amenity and residents’ groups fear that Mr Khan’s intervention – which has sparked opposition from Westminster council – could delay improvements to Oxford Street for years.
Ms Sadik-Khan, asked about the challenge of diverting buses from Oxford Street, said she believed that would be one of the easier puzzles to solve.
She said the opening of the Elizabeth line – which has stations at Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street – had vastly improved public transport connections and meant shoppers were less reliant on buses or taxis.
She said: “I think the bigger challenge is the cultural challenge – changing the mindset of what is possible. The street is for more than just buses and taxis.
“We faced many of the same challenges in Times Square. People didn’t go to Times Square to see the cars. They came to Times Square because it was the world’s stage. But it didn’t live up to its reputation.
“People said that when we closed Times Square to cars and opened it to people it was going to be ‘carmageddon’.
“I do think that London is inspiring the world, whether it’s what is happening with the Ulez, or the investment in the Superloop buses or opening the Elizabeth line. London is the city to watch.”
